Community Resources
Assistance Available for Students/Families
Backpack for Hunger
The local Backpack for Hunger program is available for all Fox Chapel Area students.
This program provides weekend food for children of families in need. These children have breakfast and lunch at school during the week but might not have enough food on the weekends. Food is sent home with each participating child every Friday. Each bag includes enough food for two breakfasts, two lunches, and two snacks. Within the offerings, there will be two fruits/vegetables and two proteins. (A one-day example is a breakfast bar, individual macaroni & cheese, applesauce, and pretzels.
Backpack for Hunger is a local nonprofit, 501(c)(3) group of parent volunteers and is funded by food and monetary donations from the community, including individuals, clubs, grants, and local religious organizations.
There are no eligibility requirements, and the program will service any family in need. The program, which is not funded by the Fox Chapel Area School District, operates year-round and provides approximately 180 free weekend care bags of food during the school year. During the summer months, approximately 150 free food bags are provided each week to children in the Sharpsburg community.
Anyone interested in learning more about this program should contact a school counselor in the district or visit https://backpackforhunger.org/.
Fox Families Care
Fox Families Care is a valued partner of the Fox Chapel Area School District. Fox Families Care invests in the needs of children and works directly with the district in conjunction with strategic community partners with the goal of bridging the gap between the needs and resources of children and families in the community. For more information, visit https://www.foxfamiliescare.org/.
Roots of Faith
The Sharpsburg-based organization collaborates with other community entities for programs such as The Neighborhood Table and Circles Sharpsburg. For more information, visit https://faithfoxchapel.org/rof/.
PA 211 Southwest
PA 211 Southwest is part of the national 211 Call Centers initiative that seeks to provide an easy-to-remember telephone number, chat, text, and a web resource for finding health and human services – for everyday needs and in crisis situations.
PA 211 Southwest is sponsored by by United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania in collaboration with Peoples Gas, Duquesne Light Company, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Philanthropy at PNC. Together with local county government and provider agencies, PA Southwest 211 works to ensure important local program information is accessible through our helpline when it is most needed.
Every day, highly trained 211 call specialists provide referrals to:
- Basic Human Needs Resources: food banks, shelters, rent and utility payment assistance
- Physical and Mental Health Resources: crisis intervention services, support groups, counseling
- Employment Support: financial assistance, job training, education programs
- Support for Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities: home-delivered meals, transportation, health care
- Youth and Child Care Programs: after school programs, summer camps, mentoring, protection services
- Regional Disaster Preparation
With one phone number, callers gain free, confidential access to thousands of programs and services that can help improve the quality of their lives. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 2‑1‑1 (or 1-888-553-5778). TTY and language services are available in more than 170 languages and dialects.
For more information about us or our partners or PA 211 Southwest, please dial 2‑1‑1 or visit https://pa211sw.org/.